May 30th, 2009 
Stephen Rhodes 
Posted in 
The Denver Nuggets, if you include the regular season and postseason, have definitely overachieved as they were not picked by most NBA “experts” to even get to the Western Conference finals. Yet here they are as they took on the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6 of this best-of-7 series at Pepsi Center.
But not surprisingly, the Nuggets had the “deer’s-eyes-in-the-headlights” type of game as Kobe Bryant scorched them for 35 points, leading Los Angeles to the easy 119-92 win over Denver, sending the Lakers to the NBA Finals for the second straight year.
The Nuggets had very little momentum going for them as they held a one-point lead after a J.R. Smith tip-in; however, the Lakers would respond with a 21-7 run, capped by a Lamar Odom jumper – which would give them a 53-40 lead at halftime. Denver would narrow their deficit to 79-67 but Los Angeles replied with a 9-0 spurt; the Lakers would grab hold and not let go as they sported a 101-82 lead – essentially icing the game.
Bryant led all Los Angles scorers with 35 points, 6 rebounds, 10 assists and a block while Pau Gasol and Odom added 20 points each – with Gasol grabbing 12 boards, dishing out 6 assists along with 3 steals and a block while Odom grabbed 8 rebounds and dished out an assist. Trevor Ariza chipped in 17 (including three 3-pointers) with 4 rebounds and an assist.
Denver was led by Carmelo Anthony with 25 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal while Smith added 24 (including four treys) with 2 rebounds and a steal. Los Angeles will now advance to the NBA Finals and host either Orlando on Thursday or travel to Cleveland should the Cavaliers prevail in their best-of-seven series in the Eastern Conference finals.
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